The Phillies have acquired right-hander James Norwood from the Padres in exchange for minor league infielder Kervin Pichardo and cash, according to announcements from both teams. San Diego designated Norwood for assignment earlier this week.
Norwood, 28, tossed five scoreless innings of relief for the Friars last season and has 27 total innings of Major League work under his belt dating back to his 2018 debut with the Cubs. He’s logged a 3.67 ERA, albeit with a below-average 18.5% strikeout rate and a bloated 13.1% walk rate.
Norwood has a decent overall track record in Triple-A, where he’s pitched to a 4.05 ERA in parts of three seasons. He whiffed 37.2% of his opponents in 44 2/3 Triple-A frames this past season, which surely held some appeal to the Phils. Norwood is out of minor league options, meaning he’ll need to either break camp with the Phils or be designated for assignment once again. Given that Philadelphia sent a minor leaguer to the Padres, as opposed to a simple cash transaction or waiver claim, it would seem Norwood has a decent shot of being included in Philadelphia’s Opening Day relief corps.
As for the 20-year-old Pichardo, he’s a Bronx native who joined the Phillies in June 2019 as an undrafted free agent. He spent most of his time at shortstop after signing in ’19 but played more third base in 2021. Pichardo logged just 35 total games across three levels last year and batted .247/.476/.466 with two homers, six doubles, two triples, two steals and a 32-to-28 K/BB ratio in 105 plate appearances.
The Phillies have really added some depth this offseason. They may get to third place!
I agree. Dodgers, Braves, then Phillies.
I can literally copy quotes from last year before last season that say the same thing. They finished second last year and are vastly improved. But so are the Braves, Mets and Marlins.
I don’t think the Phillies are going to win the division this year, they aren’t a complete team, but I do think they’re going to impress. I think they will give the Mets and Braves fits. Not the Marlins. The Marlins own the Phils. So yes. 3rd place does seem like a strong possibility, but 2nd or 1st seems less impossible than it did before the lockout.
They give the mets a lot of headaches too. The marlins love to be spoilers and get in the way when they aren’t competitive. It’s not a whine, if you can’t compete then have fun.
I think the Phillies gave up a guy with possible potential for a not very good guy. Well see.
Marlins not competitive? They have a fantastic rotation
the August sweep was real fun. not just because we were playing NYM, but the team played quite well. helped open the door for ATL, ironically.
You sure the Mets are a complete team? Supposedly they were complete at the start of last year too.
@pwndroia I think the Mets are an injury away from being a disaster, but if they stay healthy, I have a hard time seeing them struggle.
Phil’s have an excellent starting staff. They will put up a bunch of runs too. That particular combo will win you a lot of regular season games, man.
If Dumbrowski has finally figured out how to put a bullpen together, the Phillies will absolutely be in the hunt for the division.
They will need to score runs. Their D looks like last year’s Yankees. Though with much much better catching.
No argument from me there, Joe. They will certainly give some of those runs right back. I do think they’ll put up a lot of wins. Reminds me of our ’17-’20 clubs that lit up the scoreboard & had those deep ‘pens.
Didi was actually one of the few shortstops who was *worse* than Gleyber last year. So: yeah. Won’t be the cleanest style of baseball.
The thing I keep emphasizing is that their D is no worse than last year. People keep bringing it up as if it’s a new issue. It isn’t. It sucked last year and they were competitive.
One thing: at least under Joe G they won’t do a bunch of stupid ****.
Unless you consider his poor managing stupid.
He is certainly a much better manager than Aaron Boone. I don’t follow the Phillies. So perhaps he’s gotten worse or something. I know a lot of you guys are fairly unhappy with him. Must be for some reason.
I’d swap managers though. I think most Yankee fans would too at this point.
Girardi is one of the best managers there is. You’re going to have to show your work on calling out Joe G.
“So perhaps he’s gotten worse or something.”
I don’t think Girardi has adjusted to modern baseball. The game is drastically different than it was 7 years or so ago. Girardi is an old-school manager in a modern era, and while that may seem refreshing on the surface, sometimes it’s frustrating.
Boone on the other hand, is a very modern manager. Which can also be a bit frustrating and leave fans clamoring for old-school baseball. It’s a bit ironic. Neither one has had tremendous success in recent years.
I guess therein lies the difference.
Those of us who prefer an actual baseball manager will opt for Girardi. Those who prefer a “manager” that singularly follows their front office’s edicts & is really more of an administrator will opt for the Boone type.
Personally, I still prefer my manager to make independent decisions. But you’re right. A lot of teams are moving away from those types & towards an order follower.
In another decade or so, I imagine most MLB managers will be merely figureheads. For better or worse.
I prefer old-school ball, but it doesn’t seem to exist anymore in a lot of ways.
Yeah. I do too, Hayes.
One of the things that was most apparent during the lockout – to me anyway – is that fans that are found places like this are actually the segment of fans MLB cares about the least. Which – from a business sense – I understand. No matter what they do with the rules, the ball, the money, the emphasis, etc, we will keep coming back. I know I will. & I am not the only one.
I don’t wanna go all old-dude-yelling-at-the-clouds – because as Joe G would say, it is what it is – but it’s hard not to think baseball is losing some pieces that have always been important. A lot of those that I really liked. Real managers being just one of them.
The Phillies will hit a ton. However, that defense is the issue. A bullpen for every team is year to year. The NL East will be a battle.
I will take the Phillies starting 9 over the lowly mets every day of the week my friend
Give me the fighting Phil’s entire rotation and bullpen depth, power arms and bench over those never won anything buck Showalter mets sir.
This guys sounds like he’s right up Craven Moreheads alley…
…do others see irony in its being stated by Pete LaCock?
and that’s our 28th man
If MLB had 5 inning games I’d pick the Phillies to win the division. Their going to end up paying a premium for a closer well before the trade deadline.
i think it’s gonna be a SP actually. Nola is slipping, Wheeler and Eflin have injury issues, and Gibson is just a guy. I think the team will need someone else starting by then.
Bwaaaaaaa I say friend. Wheeler is dominant, NOLA had a off year but is still dominant, eflin was dominant until knee surgery, Gibson is a number 4 my friend, and oh our crafty lefty wats his face.
Eflin dominant? When? Grab a dictionary for that word. I’m tired of “next year” being Eflin’s year and a section of fans acting like he has 3 Cy Youngs. Doing better than Pivetta and Vinny isn’t dominance. He’s finally a free agent after this year.
I don’t think Nola is slipling I think he got no benefits off their defense. Strikeouts (11.9 K/9) great, Walks (1.9 BB/9) great and WHIP (1.13) good. I definitely think Nola is a top 15~20 pitcher in the league. Kyle “just a guy” Gibson was pitching great until the Phillies defense got behind him
Knebel has looked great. I think they have their closer.
There is no such thing as a ‘premium’ closer. Every reliever in baseball gives up runs. Every reliever in baseball will have blown saves. A good year does not guarantee a good following year.
Unfortunately Knebel, Hand, Familia, and the rest of the bullpen will have their failures and give up runs and have some blown saves. It’s inevitable. But, there are fans who just cannot understand this and expect absolute perfection EVERY time. Be prepared for another season of screaming, ranting, whining, and crying when any of the relievers dares to give up runs and lose a game.
As of right now the Phillies have the makings of a decent bullpen with decent depth. The rotation needs depth, but Bailey Falter has eased my concerns a bit. I still think this team needs a couple of high end defensive specialists and another really great reliever, but I also think they are close.
@ bucketbrew35;
The Phillies short and intermediate term future depends on their coaching staff maximizing the abilities of those on the ML roster – particularly the Pitchers.
On paper the starting pitching looks vey good. Reality is that: 1) injuries occur; 2) Suárez was relief pitcher last year, he has to be stretched out – even if healthy doubt he throws 160 innings; and 3) the Phillies have no depth at starting pitching. As for their relief pitching, it’s inconsistent and questionable: most of the time Alvarado comes in and can’t throw strikes – the worst thing a bullpen pitcher can do; Hand looks pretty much washed up; Familia blows hot and cold, etc. So the pitching coaches have to clean those guys and others up, If Girardi has to have a bullpen game due to a starters injuries, it’ll mess up the bullpen for at least the next 3-4 games.
Then we get to the Phillies defense…….
It’s all on the coaching staff.
P.S. As in 2021, the Phillies biggest asset is that they play in the NLE. Once a few old guys on the Mets go down with injuries people will wonder what the offseason hubbub was all about. That’s a very old team.
This is it. Depth is the problem and it’ll impact the season. Braves are equipped to deal with injuries. Mets are to some extent although if deGrom or Scherzer miss a significant chunk of time, I think they’re in trouble. Phillies can’t afford any key injuries.
Old guys on the Mets. LOL. 33 must be the new 50.
Actually, those 33 year-old guys they signed all have missed portions of seasons the past few years. It’s why they need to keep Davis, Smith, McNeil, and Cano around.
Name a team that does have depth at starting pitching.
Name a team that doesn’t have inconsistent and questionable relievers.
Every team faces the same challenges with their pitching staffs as the Phillies do, whether it be injuries, digression due to age, or just plain off years.
He must make the team out of Spring Training or they Phillies must DFA him making him available on waivers…
So much for opening a roster spot for Stott. I guess they will cut one of the two bad hitting backup catchers to do that
Although it will piss off fans, they may even choose to leave Stott in the minors. They can’t afford to screw this kid’s development up. He’s a future star.
I think there’s a tangible chance that they hold a guy like Norwood for a few weeks until the rosters fall to 26 and then they make the decision on Stott. Norwood is out of options, so if you DFA him at the reduction than you can add Stott and at the same time send Bohm down if that looks like a good idea then.
Well said DS830
Bohm is history
A lot of Scott Kingery scar tissue.
Todays score aside, I have some concerns about Nola…been serving up home runs a bunch..last year and this spring..Joe has been using bunch of arms we might never see again this spring..I completely discount those outings..Now, it’s time to cut the squad down..season about to start..getem ready Joe!
I was not at all worried about Nola as all metrics pointed to a huge bounceback, but then came Spring Training, and while I don’t put much stock in ST, the fact that Nola continuously gave up the longball with two strikes is very concerning. I too am worried about Nola. Wheeler is going to be really good, but we can’t expect him to match what he did last year. So if Nola regresses again, the Phils are in trouble.
Kind of odd that Pichardo is from the Bronx but signed as a FA at 17 and then went straight to the Dominican league. That’s not something you usually see for a US player.
I’m a Guardians fan, and George Valera went through something similar to this. He was born in New York but moved to the Dominican Republic as a kid and then signed when he was 16. He never played in the DSL during rookie ball like Pichardo did though.
I’m not sure what Pichardo’s backstory is, but maybe it’s something similar.